Thats a great idea! I would wrap them individually, and pack them all in a sturdy cardboard box surrounded with lots of soft stuffing/newspaper so nothing moves around. USPS Priority Mail takes 2-3 business days from west coast to east coast. You can do all of your shipping from home if you weigh your package to the lb. And Priority is slightly cheaper when printed online versus Post Office.

https://sss-web.usps.com/cns/landing.do

And then you can schedule a free Carrier Pick Up for the next day:

https://carrierpickup.usps.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/CarrierPickup.woa

I sound like a USPS advertisement LOL!

If your package is heavy, 3 lbs or more, your best bet from west to east coast is a USPS Priority Flat Rate box (2-3 day transit). Its $10 regardless of weight or destination. And all Priority boxes are free. Hope this helps. (I ship things every day ~I have one that I should be packing right now hehe!) :-)

If possible, ship early in the week so that a one-day delay won't mean that arrival changes from the expected Friday to Monday. That's what many vendors who ship plants do.

Great idea! My birthday is in August and if I don't have tomatoes by then, gifts will be gratefully accepted. I will even cheerfully register as a charity so the fair market value of any extra tomatoes will be tax deductible if anyone is uncomfortable with the gift giving thing. :)

Sue

Thanks for all of your input. Won't she be surprised! Her bday is 8/20, so there's plenty of time for my toms to get ready.

I shipped tomatoes from Illinois to Florida. I picked them at first blush, wrapped them individually in newspaper and sent them by UPS. The ones on all four corners had a little damage but not enough that they could not be used. The rest of the box, a double computer paper box, was fine.

I have a friend who has had to give up growing tomatoes because of back problems. I intend to ship him a few Brandywines and Cherokee Purples once a month. Wrapped up in newspaper and surrounded by styrofoam peanuts, they should do just fine.

Boy, if I was having a better year, I would suggest mailing some trades with other forum members. That would be fun, esp. trying varieties that you have been wanting to try or that don't do well in your area but do great much better for others.

Sue

Hi Sue,

That is a great idea! I am in New Jersey and am growing Plum and Beefsteak tomatoes if anyone is interested.

I shipped off a package today. I wrapped the toms in bubble wrap and padded the top and bottom with newspaper. I did some green and some with a little blush and some with medium ripe.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all is well.

It's going to be her 89th bday. Yikes!

I'm glad to say that the tomatoes all arrived without getting bruised. Good eats!

Yay!

Can I be next?! lol

You betcha! :D

I would love to buy some Jersey Tomatoes if anyone would be willing to ship them to Utah.
sueinglet@yahoo.com

You guys are GREAT!! Just yesterday I was trying to think of a way to send some fresh veggies from my garden to my grandsons. You have given me the info I needed. Monday I will ship some tomatoes and carrots - with the tops! They are going to love this. You see I will be sending them yellow tomatoes and yellow carrots :-))

DL

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much for posting about how to ship tomatoes. You chat came up right away when I googled my question and I have just discovered and joined Garden Web.

So I sent three heirloom tomatoes to San Diego today from Sacramento. The sad news is that today is Sunday and mail pick-up will not happen until tomorrow 3pm. That said, things move pretty quickly around California and I am hoping they will arrive by Tues or Weds.

I will post an update.

I packed in newspaper as suggested in a very sturdy box. Did not use the styrofoam peanuts although I had those but was wondering if they had toxins that might impact my tomatoes or the moisture content of the package? Oh, I did include a lot of fresh oregano from the garden.

Razzleberry

I think more important than wrapping , (or as important) is using a sturdy box, that will resist collapsing. Also make sure they don't rattle in the box.

A dear friend is moving from Napa Valley to Tx this next week- just S tomatoes are coming on! Thanks for all the input! Think I'll go to the local market and hit up the produce guy for a few boxes! Will wrap as you all suggest and send them off with fingers crossed! Appreciate your suggestions

Be careful about interstate produce shipping. California is pretty nasty about it. Imports of tomatoes from all states to CA are "subject to inspection", and from a few places are disallowed entirely. I think Texas is pretty lenient about importing produce, though. Other produce, especially fruits and nuts, are barred entirely.

I'm a tomato grower/lover too. Would love to ship some of my heirlooms from Southeastern PA to family in Washington state. What do you say when the postal clerk asks you, "is there anything liquid, fragile, perishable inside...?"

Do you fib?

If you can ship any of the heirloom tomatoes my neighbors and I grow across country without turning to katsup you're sitting on a gold mine. Commercial growers in Texas have tried harvesting, hauling and marketing Big Boy,Better Boy,Early Girl and other local favorites without success for as long as I remember. Maybe some folks have never tasted good tomatoes. I've come to the same conclusion about bread around the Great Lakes as compared to Deep South States.

I'm not picking on areas North of the Mason Dixon,the same holds true for home prepared Creole food and fried chicken vs that sold at restaurants just up the road.